Even though they need to gather information, of course they have a rough idea of where Helen was taken.
It looks like she was taken to a place with a lot of commerce.
Not a military city?
Yeah.
　If you're going to lock up mercenaries, I think a place like a garrison would be better, but isn't it?
Probably because there's a lot of people coming and going. You can hide one or two mercenaries in there. There are plenty of warehouses, so there's no shortage of places to hide and lock up.
In other words, the Empire wants to keep Helen's capture a secret?
Probably. If that's the case, the recapture itself might be easier. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea. Until there is a decision to bury him in the dark, he will not be treated badly.
I take it that deadline is imminent.
It will.
　I don't know when Camilo got the offer, but the fact that he left the next day after I was told certainly indicates that he's in more than a little hurry.

　We'll work out the details as we go. It's a carriage, so there's basically no need to worry about being heard by anyone other than the people in the carriage.
So, what am I supposed to do if they find me?
"Sorry, you're a fighter. You may be asked to disguise yourself to escape.
　They won't think an ordinary looking man is a sword wielder, so it'll be good to blend in. That's all right.
Disguise?
Yeah. When they run away, they might get suspicious if they're with us. You're a normal guy. We could pretend we're married or something and get out of here.
You can't be married.
Not really. Kurosmiths don't get to meet their wives very often. Helen has a scar on her face, so it's not strange to think of her as a potential mate.
"Hmm.
Well, with her short red hair and scars on her face, it's obvious, so I've prepared a wig for her. If you captured her in secret, the guards would not have been informed of the details, including her appearance, so they should be able to handle it.
"I see.
　The more people you come into contact with, the more likely it is that information will leak out. For example, the fact that store wives are generally thought to be light on their feet is not due to any ill will. This is due to the fact that they do not have much of a concept of information secrecy and the number of people they come into contact with.
　Although the guards have the concept of information confidentiality, they are not very good at judging which information falls under that category. They also tell you what they know. I don't take it too badly, because it's out of kindness.

　As we talked, we continued on our way to the Empire. Perhaps because this is still the territory of the Kingdom, we didn't run into any bandits.

　On the first day, we stayed in a town near the border. Being so close to the border means that there are many people coming and going, and there is a regular army stationed there.
　The lodgings we stayed at were not bad enough for a peddler to stay in, and each person had a room, but the guard rented bedding from the inn and slept in a carriage. He also served as a baggage handler. This seems to be the standard in such cases.
　The room was not so different from our bedroom. This kind of thing is hard to feature unless you're in a very high class place, or the opposite, a very poor place. .......

All right, let's go out for a bit!
Where is it?
　After dinner, Camilo started to get excited. It's already dark outside. Isn't it too late to do anything?
I'm gathering information.
"So where?
　The farmer has already gone home. The stores are long closed and there's no one to collect it from. ......
Brothel.
You know what I mean. You're going there, aren't you?
　The only places open at this hour are bars and brothels.
　We'll be here today and leave tomorrow. If we came here in a hurry and visited every bar in town in a day, and we always talked about a certain topic at least once in every bar, it would be obvious what we wanted to ask.
　If this is the case, it is better to ask a person who is in contact with a lot of people and who is in a tight-lipped profession than to ask a lot of people. If you only ask one person once, you will not feel uncomfortable.
　There is a risk that you might not have the right information, and there is no guarantee that you won't be able to get through to somewhere else, but today we are not at the stage of getting certain information yet, but rather at the stage of searching for something like a scent before that.

I'm not going.
Why not? Because it's bad for your wife and kids?
No, it's a family thing. ......
　This world is not a monogamous one. This world is not monogamous, so it's not culturally wrong to marry everyone, but that's not why we don't marry.
"Well, it's better to go with several people to reduce the probability of getting the wrong one.
Wouldn't it be suspicious if there were two of us and we both heard the same thing?
Yeah, that's .......
　The number one reason why I don't want to go is because I don't want to create the possibility of my blood being left behind as a "guest" in this world. In a world where contraceptive technology is probably almost non-existent, there is always a chance.
　It's also why I don't plan to marry or have children with any of my family members. I'm glad that I don't have to worry about it, because they don't seem to be interested in it either.
　But I can't talk about this reason, so I have to cover it up with other reasons. It seems to have worked this time, but I'll have to think about it.



And I'm not very good at talking. I'm not much of a talker, so I'll leave the information gathering to you.
All right. ......
　I watched Camilo walk out of the inn's dining room, half-troubled, half-excited.